Tofu Marinade

A few week ago, my wife was treated to a birthday lunch by some of her friends from work. They went to a Thai restaurant called Mai Thai, where she ordered a vegetarian dish that had fried tofu in it. Well, to make a long and boring story short, she brought some of it home and had me try it. Much to my horror, I liked it. Yes, you heard me correctly, it was really, really good. Now, I know that tofu acts like a sponge and absorbs anything that touches it, so if I was even to try to attempt to recreate the way it tasted, I would have to discover what they marinated it in. Although I have a ways to go to perfect the recipe, what follows is a favorite of my wife: served cubed with fried rice.

Once again, I have forgotten to take my own pictures, so I had to hunt down one. Although this is a photo of tofu that has already been baked, it will give you an idea of what it looks like...


courtesy of... vegan germs



What you need...
Extra-firm tofu

Soy sauce... 1 cup

Orange juice... ½ cup

liquid smoke... ¼ tsp (a little goes a long way with this stuff)

Garlic powder... 1 tsp

Celery seed... ½ tsp

Ginger... 1 tsp

Brown sugar... 1 Tbsp

*Optional... Nutritional Yeast (it has a cheesy flavor and is really good)



Putting it together

• Take all of the ingredients, except the tofu, add to a glass bowl, and mix to combine


• Be sure to taste the marinade, so you can adjust the flavors


• Drain tofu


• Depending on how thick your tofu is, you may want to cut it in half, so you have two squares


• Slice into strips


• Place in the bowl, cover, and put in the refrigerator


• Let marinate several hours or overnight (the longer you marinate it, the more intense the flavor)

To prepare...

You can fry it... Dredge in Nutritional yeast (or your favorite breading) and fry for 4 minutes each side

You can bake it... Dredge in Nutritional yeast (or your favorite breading) and bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn over halfway through

Enjoy!